OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL-WEDNESDAY-21/09/2016-SOLDIERS OF THE CROSS-BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE
Memorise
Thou
therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 2nd
Timothy 2:3
Read
2nd
Timothy 2:1-4
1 Thou therefore, my son, be
strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2 And
the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit
thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
3 Thou
therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
4 No
man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may
please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
KJV
MESSAGE
The word ‘soldier’ appears in the Bible
quite frequently, along with a number of synonymous terms. A soldier is a
person involved in military activity, one who is specially trained for war. In
Bible days, the phrase ‘men who drew the sword,’ was commonly used to identify
a soldier’s primary function as a combatant and to symbolise warfare in
general. Ephesians 6:11-17, is a
Bible reference comparing the weapons of a fully armed Roman soldier to that of
a Christian’s spiritual armour. In recruiting earthly soldiers, some are chosen
while others who are unfit are dropped. The fact that you are born again shows
that you have scaled through the first selection hurdle. The next thing is to
prove that you are a good solider of Jesus Christ. Why? There are bad soldiers
of the Cross. There are many supposed soldiers in God’s army who are no better
than earthly civilians. In 1st
Timothy 6:12, Paul enjoins fellow Heavenly soldiers to fight the good
fight of faith. We have been called into a fight. It is a fight that is based
on your faith in Christ. 2nd
Timothy 2:4 says:
“No man that warreth
entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who
hath chosen him to be a soldier.”
The chosen is also expected to be a soldier.
Therefore, if you cannot fight to resist and terminate Satan’s operation in
your life, family or church, you are a civilian not a soldier. If you cannot
fight for God’s promise to be fulfilled in your life and circumstances, you are
a civilian, not a soldier. Can you imagine a soldier who is armed and at the
battle front drops his weapons, only to plead with fellow soldiers to assist
him in shooting at his enemies? That is a civilian solider! In the Christian
faith, there are many civilian soldiers. If you keep relying on others to pray
for you, you are a civilian solider. If you pay prayer contractors to go to
Prayer Mountains on your behalf while you are asleep at home, you are a
civilian soldier.
Civilian soldier make God nauseous. If you
are a soldier of the Cross, you must endure hardness. If because of little
trials- delayed conception, no money, or some persecution, you decide to call
it quits with your faith in Christ, you become a deserter, not a soldier.
Soldiers are tough and able to go through tough and difficult terrains. What
would stop civilians cannot stop soldiers. They are armed, disciplined and
operate according to the orders of their superiors. They are faithful to their
oath to defend and kill identified enemies of the kingdom. They fight, putting
their lives on the line. The big question that every Christian must answer with
all sincerity is, are you a soldier of the cross, a deserter, or a
civilian?
Prayer Point
Father, I am
determined to be a soldier of the cross, please help my resolve to stand for
you and the Gospel in Jesus’ name.
Bible in one year
Ezekiel 1-3, Psalms 65
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